KBFR vs RSSE

KBFRBInnovator U.S. Small Cap Managed 10 Buffer ETF

RSSECFT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF - September

In short

KBFR Small caps with a seatbelt. Innovator's actively managed fund owns roughly 800 U.S. small caps and layers options on top, built around the 10% buffer in its name, and it undercuts the typical buffer fund on fee.

RSSE Most buffer ETFs bolt their downside cushion onto the megacap-heavy S&P 500. This one uses the equal-weight version instead, buffering the first 10% of losses over a one-year outcome period that resets every September.

Stated mandate

KBFR The Fund seeks long-term capital gains while mitigating overall market risk. It is actively managed and uses equity and option positions to provide risk-managed U.S. small-cap exposure.

RSSE The Fund seeks returns matching the price return of the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, up to a predetermined cap, while buffering the first 10% of losses during the current outcome period.

Why people hold it

• KBFR Costs 0.79% a year, below the 0.89% typical of buffer funds in its group.
• Actively managed and holds about 800 small caps outright, with the option positions layered on top rather than standing in for the stocks.
• Buffered small-cap exposure is a thin shelf. Its nearest cohort peers cushion international stocks (IBUF), equal-weight U.S. (RSJN) or long Treasuries (TBJL).
• Adds up to one of the stronger overall packages among the buffer funds we grade.

• RSSE Buffers the first 10% of losses on the price return of the equal-weight S&P 500 ETF, so the cushion sits on a broadly spread index rather than a handful of megacaps.
• Fee of 0.85% a year, slightly under the middle of the buffer-ETF pack, and equal-weight defined-outcome funds are a small corner of that market.
• One rung of a ladder: sibling fund RSJN runs the same equal-weight buffer strategy from a June start at the same 0.85% fee, so entry months can be staggered.

Worth knowing

• KBFR Launched in 2026, so there is little live history behind any read on how it handles a real drawdown.
• Small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads and premiums can run wider than in the big buffer names.
• The buffer absorbs a slice of losses, not all of them, and the option overlay means results can part ways with the small-cap market in both directions.

• RSSE Upside is capped. The cap is reset each September for the new outcome period, so gains beyond it in the reference index do not pass through.
• Small asset base and light trading, so spreads can run wider than in the largest buffer funds. Buying mid-period also changes the buffer and cap actually in play.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short, and the options structure is built to shape returns rather than pay income.

Full KBFR profile⁠

Full RSSE profile⁠